The present invention relates to a mobile communications device and methods of operation. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a mobile communications device, such as a smart phone, including an ultraviolet light source, and methods of controlling the ultraviolet light source using the smart phone.
The inventor of the present invention is aware of the use of ultraviolet light for disinfectant purposes. Currently, there are few stand-alone products on the market that provide ultraviolet light for cleaning surfaces or purifying water. One such product is a hand held UV wand that is plugged into a wall socket, and waved over surfaces; and another such product is a hand-held unit that runs on batteries, and is inserted to sanitize a bottle of water.
Some drawbacks contemplated by the inventor, to such devices include the high power consumption of such devices limit utility of such devices. For example, surface sanitizers are typically bulky and need to be powered by plugging them into a wall socket; and portable water sanitizers use batteries, but drain them quickly.
Additional drawbacks contemplated by the inventor, to these devices are when the user travels, they are yet another device that the user must remember to bring along. Because of gadget overload, such dedicated ultraviolet light (UV) sources are not believed to be widely adopted.
From the above, it is desired to have an ultraviolet light source without the drawbacks described above.